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Biography

Pastor Maldonado Biography

It is fair to say that fans did not warm to Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, but underneath the controversies is a driver full of talent.

Pastor Maldonado Williams FW35 with new brake ducts.

Maldonado broke into the sport in 2011 as Rubens Barrichello’s team-mate at Williams, in a move which raised eyebrows as Maldonado received heavy financial backing from the Venezuelan government.

Also, the racer replaced a highly-rated young driver, Nico Hulkenberg, who didn't have Pastor’s financial luxuries.

A poor start to the season only heaped the pressure on him, and when he collided with Lewis Hamilton in Monaco his driving quality was called into question.

However, Maldonado is the 2009 GP2 champion and an impressive qualifying record proved he had the talent to be on the grid. But poor race results in comparison to his savvy team-mate Barrichello failed to ease the pressure.

Pastor Maldonado wins the 2012 Spanish F1 GP for Williams

Maldonado's and Hamilton’s spat continued in Belgium, when the William’s man deliberately drove into the Brit after qualifying, and earned himself a five-place grid penalty.

Incidentally this is where he picked up his first point after a good performance earned him a 10th placed finish. It would be his only point of the season.

Williams decided to retain Maldonado for the 2012 season and released Barrichello, in a decision which, again, was puzzling.

However, Maldonado showed how good he can in a much quicker car. Despite the car’s obvious improvement, no-one could have predicted his stunning qualifying lap in Spain which helped him to second on the grid.

Pastor Maldonado

After falling behind Fernando Alonso at the start, the Williams man drove the race of his life to beat the Spaniard and win his first Grands Prix. It was a dominant display that showcased his true speed and potential to the world.

Unfortunately that was as good as it got for the 2012 season as struggled next to new team-mate Bruno Senna. Further points in Japan and Abu Dhabi saw him finish the season in 15th place with 45 points.

2013 was a disastrous season for Williams and a very public fall out meant Maldonado’s exit was inevitable He hoped that a move to Lotus could bring a title challenge, but the team badly built their 2014 and they struggled to score points.

2015 saw Lotus produce a better car, but Maldonado's inconsistency frustrated the team all season.

He finished well behind Grosjean in the end-of-season standings, and he was released at the end of the campaign